Where Hollywood is taking us in 2013

Hollywood’s taking us to a lot of interesting places with its movies this year. Here’s a list of films we have great expectations from, and for the destinations where they’ve been shot:

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Cast: Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, the entire LOTR troupe—Sir Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving—and Benedict Cumberbatch as The Necromancer.Directed by: Peter Jackson, who has helmed The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the previous hobbit film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.What it’s about: The sequel to An Unexpected Journey, this movie follows Bilbo—who now has the One Ring—and the others who are on a journey to retrieve their gold and drive the dragon Smaug out of their homeland.Filmed in: Mountainous and woodsy New Zealand, home to the now famous Hobbiton Movie Set.

BEFORE MIDNIGHTCast: Nine years later, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy once again play American tourist Jesse and French student Celine.Directed by: Richard Linklater, the man behind the previous two films, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.What it’s about: Nine years after their last encounter in Paris, and 18 years after the train ride from Budapest to Vienna, the film once again reunites Jesse and Celine, but this time, in Greece.Filmed in: Messenia, in the south-west part of Peloponnese in Greece. Expect to see their strange romance rekindled in the cobblestoned old town, on the pretty beach and amongst the groves and vineyards.

UNDER THE SKINCast: Scarlett Johansson plays an alien named Isserley.Directed by: Jonathon Glazer, known for his 2000 film Sexy Beast.What it’s about: Isserley is an extraterrestrial creature who has come to Earth as a seductive woman to lure hitchhikers into traps, as humans are a delicacy on her home planet. Based on the book by Michel Faber.Filmed in: Glen Coe and Glasgow in Scotland. From the vibrant and happening streets of Glasgow to the deep gorges of Glen Coe, the film is a visual journey through Scotland.

THE THIRD PERSONCast: Liam Neeson, Adrien Brody, Mila Kunis, James Franco, Olivia Wilde and Cassey Affleck.Directed by: Paul Haggis, the writer-director of Crash and screenwriter of Casino Royale.What it’s about: Interlocking love stories about three couples in Paris, Rome and New York.Filmed in: Rome and the lesser known hilly regions of Lazio in Italy.

ONLY GOD FORGIVESCast: Ryan Gosling plays Julian, an ex-cop, and Kristin Scott Thomas plays his motherDirected by: Nicolas Winding Refn, known for Drive.What it’s about: Exiled Julian runs a Thai boxing club, and his family and he are involved in drug smuggling. Meanwhile, his mother Jenna wants him to find those who killed his brother.Filmed in: The Chinatown area of Bangkok, as Refn’s idea was to make a Western in Asia.

THE WOLVERINE Cast: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Will Yun Lee as Silver Samurai.Directed by: James Mangold, famous for 3:10 To Yuma and Kate and Leopold.What it’s about: Based on the limited edition comic series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, this film has Wolverine going to Japan as he confronts a mysterious figure from his past. Filmed in: New South Wales, Sydney and Japan. Prime locations include the Tokyo Tower, Zojoji Temple and the Fukuyama Station in Japan.

THE ZERO THEOREMCast: Christoph Waltz plays an eccentric computer genius, while Matt Damon plays a mysterious figure only referred to as Management. The movie also stars Ben Whishaw, Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare and Mélanie Thierry.Directed by: Terry Gilliam, known for his 1995 Monty Python, The Brothers Grimm and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.What it’s about: A sci-fi film about a genius who tries to discover the meaning of life by solving a mathematical formula called Zero Theorem. Filmed in: The Romanian capital of Bucharest, a city that is a mix of youthful vigour, historic charm, culture and art.

47 RONIN (3D)Cast: Keanu Reeves plays a Japanese Britisher who joins the samurai along with a few big names of Japanese cinema like Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Kô Shibasaki, Rinko Kikuchi, and Jin AkanishiDirected by: Carl Rinsch, a debutant director.What it’s about: Based on the real life 47 Ronin, the film is about a group of samurai who set out to seek vengeance from the man who killed their master. Filmed in: Hungary and London. A majority of the film was shot by the Danube in Budapest, after which shooting was moved to England.

QUEEN OF THE DESERTCast: Robert Pattison plays TE Lawrence, Naomi Watts is Gertrude Bell and Jude Law is Henry Cadogan, a British diplomat.Directed by: Werner Herzog, a documentary filmmaker who is also known for Rescue Dawn.What it’s about: A biopic on the life of the English writer, explorer and archaeologist Gertrude Bell, who founded the Hashemite dynasties in Jordan and Iraq with Lawrence of Arabia.Filmed in:Morocco, Jordan and the UK. The movie was also rumoured to have been shot on-location in Jordan.